To Hell and Back Again
by DysprosiumOxide
Summary: Naruto's life turns into a living hell after the Kyuubi uses him to kill. Rated M for murder, violence, blood/gore. Future relationships. Slight AU, OOC.
1. Chapter 1

Well, hello people! Thank you for choosing my story. But I must forewarn you: this story contains violence, blood, vomit, more violence, explicit language, and even more violence. It may even contain things that you won't understand. But if you happen to like all of those things, then please, go ahead and read!

Reminder: This story is partially with the plotline of the anime/manga, and partially isn▓t. I tried to make things be as accurate as I could, but if you do happen to find errors in my story, then please notify me so I can fix them and make the next chapters even better.

Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters do not belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. However, the fact that a few of them are going to have rather untimely deaths does belong to me.

This story belongs to me, ViolentImpulses, and my friend Karri, who unfortunately doesn't have an account on here (curse you Karri!), so partial credit belongs to her. She helped me come up with a lot of the plot of this story. Thankfully, I was able to have her betaread it for me as well. So, I thank Karri for helping me develop this piece of random violence-filled awesomeness called a story, and Ted for betareading this and giving me feedback on it.

Again, let me say that this story belongs to ME. If anyone has the balls to try and steal my story, then they will be reported and will have to deal with me. I ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT TOLERATE THEIVERY!

Now, with all of that out of the way, ON WITH THE VIOLENCE!!

+

Leaning back in her chair, Lady Tsunade let out a long sigh, followed closely by a yawn. She just finished signing some documents, being that she is the Hokage and she is always forced to do this kind of boring shit. Sitting forward again slightly, she glanced over at the clock on the wall: 2:17 AM. She had now been sitting in the same damn office in the same damn chair for over eight hours now, reading several reports made by the ANBU over the past few weeks. Strangely, all of the reports were of disappearances of both ninja and common villagers, none of whom had been heard of since their disappearances.

In the first week, three people were reported missing: one ninja and two villagers. The ninja, a young Genin, was later found on the outskirts of the village, dead, half-concealed by a large bush by the hot springs. Not a very good place to hide a body. The next two people's bodies were never found, no matter how hard the ANBU searched. Kakashi even summoned his team of dogs to try and sniff them out, but were all unsuccessful. For the next two weeks, four more disappearances were reported: two ninja and two villagers. By this time, word of the disappearances had gotten out to the rest of the village, and people were growing more and more paranoid that they were going to be next. To try and keep the peace in the village, Tsunade and other high-ranked nin decided that they would place patrols throughout the village at nighttime (since that was when the disappearances occurred). Along with all available ANBU members, Jonin and Chunin that were patrolling were given 'Attack and Capture' orders from the Hokage. All persons who were captured would be taken to Ibiki Morino for questioning. So far, no one who had been observed by the patrols were marked as 'suspicious', and therefore weren't captured.

Tsunade let out another sigh and rubbed her temples frustratingly. She felt yet another headache coming on, and knew that she had to get some sleep. She always seemed to get headaches when she was tired and overworked. So, standing from her chair and stretching, she began packing things up: straightening the papers, putting away pens and things, and just generally tidying things up a little so it wasn't so messy.

A sudden chill ran down her spine - the kind of feeling that one gets when they're being watched. She turned slightly to peer over her shoulder, but saw nothing. Nothing but the roofs of buildings across the street and the bright moon high in the sky, surrounded by drifting clouds. Slowly, she turned back to her desk. She finished packing away her things and turned off the light, then walked around the desk and headed for the door. Her hand just barely rested itself on the door handle when she felt it again: that creeping feeling that runs up your spine when you think you're being watched. Prepared this time, she quickly turned about-face. A shadowy figure stood just before her desk, facing her, his face hidden in the darkness of the office. Tsunade was about to reach into her pocket to get out a kunai, but instead took a closer look at the man: he stood just a little shorter than she was, was wearing what looked like orange pants and a black tee shirt, and had spiky blonde hair.

"...Naruto?" she said. No reply came from him. "Naruto? Are you alri-" Tsunade wasn't able to finish. In a flash, Naruto had run up to her and slammed her against the wall, pinning her there with his forearm against her throat. Her feet dangled just centimeters above the floor, and she began gasping for air. She saw that his eyes were still cast downward, and was now able to see that his eyes were closed, as though he were sleeping. Tsunade brought a hand up to Naruto's arm and grasped it tightly, digging her nails into his skin. Surely a rush of pain to him would wake him up. She felt one of her nails break the skin and looked to see a small trickle of blood running down his arm. She smirked slightly, then turned back to Naruto's face. He was watching her, both eyes now open and sharply locked onto her face. His eyes were both a demonic red color, and his pupils were small and catlike.

"...You're not Naruto..." Tsunade whispered at him. He grinned evilly, baring lengthened canines, and laughed.

Naruto replaced his forearm with his opposite hand, gripping Tsunade's throat, then threw her across the room. She hit her desk with a loud CRASH, leaving a good-sized dent in the front of it and breaking the wood slightly. Tsunade pushed herself back up with her arms and gazed with awe at Naruto: never before had she realized just how strong the nineteen-year old had gotten since they had last met a few years previously. Then again, that wasn't the Naruto she knew.

Naruto walked toward Tsunade, but she was quicker. She rose to her feet, then balled her hand into a fist and swung at him. She heard her fist collide with his abdomen with a dull WHUD. Tsunade had poured her chakra into her fist, and thereby sent Naruto flying across the room, hitting the opposite wall and leaving a large dent, as well as knocking down a good portion of the pictures and things that were hanging from the wall. Naruto recovered quickly, though, and stood back up, wiping away a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. For the next moment or two, neither of them dared to move. They merely stood facing each other, panting.

'I need to restrain him.' Tsunade thought. She reached for her pocket to pull out another kunai. 'I've got to-' Her musings were painfully disrupted as Naruto's foot came out of nowhere and kicked her in the side of the head, forcing her down to the ground. Tsunade opened her eyes and saw spots flashing before her. She had gotten a concussion. She suddenly felt Naruto's hand grasp a fistful of her hair and pull, jerking her head up. He squatted down in front of her and sat on his haunches, staring at her with his fiery eyes.

"Why are you doing this, Kyuubi?" Tsunade asked him. Naruto closed his eyes briefly, grinning menacingly. Reopening his eyes, he parted his lips as though he were about to say something back. Before a single word left his lips, though, he cried out in pain and stood back up, releasing his grip on Tsunade's hair in the process. His hands clawed at his eyes and he fell to his knees, panting. Tsunade pushed herself up to her knees, staring at him disbelievingly.

Naruto's hands left his face and he looked up at Tsunade. His features had become less demonic, and his eyes had turned to a deep purple color, a mixture between the blue and red.

"...Tsunade?" Naruto asked slowly. He blinked once, then began to nearly shout at her. "Tsunade! You need to get out of here! It's the Kyuubi! He's learned how to take over my body and use me to kill innocent people! I▓ve tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen to me! I'm sorr-" One of his hands flew back up to his face and clenched his hair as he grimaced in pain. "You need to get out of here! Now! He's trying to-AAAHH!!" His other hand came up to cover his face and he screamed in pain, bending his body over.

This whole time, Tsunade didn't even move. She was shocked to see Naruto pleading for her to run, but because of the concussion, she couldn't react fast enough to what he was saying in the first place.

Naruto had stopped screaming, and his body suddenly relaxed. Almost immediately, fiery red chakra enveloped his body. This time, Tsunade reacted. She started to move, trying to push her body more upright so she could stand. Naruto's head snapped up at the sound of her moving. His eyes had turned red again and his pupils had thinned. His teeth were bared, showing elongated canines that belonged to the Kyuubi.

The fiery chakra blazed around Naruto's body, making him appear to be engulfed in hot flames. Part of the chakra at Naruto's backside thinned, then exploded, forming what looked like fox tails.

'Tails...' Tsunade thought as she stared, half crouched on the floor. She was trying to remember what Jiraiya had told her about the tails. 'Oh, that's right. Naruto's Demon Fox Transformations. Let's see, tails one through three are okay. Four, bad.' Tsunade stopped her musings and looked closely at the tails that were forming, counting them as they appeared.

'One...' she counted. 'two...three...fo-' She stopped at the sight of the fourth tail and immediately whispered, "Oh, shit."

Naruto crouched, the claws on his fingers and toes digging into the carpet. He clenched his teeth as his canines grew into fangs, and his face twisted into a beastly snarl. The fiery red chakra swirled around him, his four tails twisting behind him menacingly. In a second, Naruto lunged at her, jumping high in the air with his right arm drawn back, ready to strike. Tsunade's eyes went wide in terror. Her body was paralyzed and numb, her heart pounding in her chest. Yet, she made no effort to move as Naruto's clawed hand came closer. She didn't see a ball of bluish-purple chakra forming in Naruto's hand, didn't feel one of his hands grasp tightly onto her shoulder to hold her in place as the ball of chakra ripped through her shirt and begin to tear at her flesh, the blood spewing from her, nor feel her sternum crack in half from the force of Naruto's chakra pressing down on her ribs. She didn't feel her heart stop┘.

The ball of chakra slowly faded into nothingness and Naruto tore his hand back out of Tsunade's chest. A large gaping hole in her chest showed where he had struck, tearing through skin, bone, and muscle, until his hand exited the other side. Naruto stood and stared down at the empty, now lifeless corpse of the Fifth Hokage, grinning evilly.

"Now, kit..." he said aloud, snickering. "...I think it's time that we leave..." And with that, he crept over to the open window, jumped up onto the sill, and disappeared into the night, smirking at the thought of someone finding Tsunade's body the following morning.

+

Naruto woke early the following morning with a splitting headache, as well as an upset stomach. For quite some time after he woke up, he lay curled up beneath the blankets. Images from the previous night flashed through his head. Twice he found them so upsetting that he began retching and had to run to the bathroom. After his second trip, he staggered back to his bed and sat down. He stared down at his hands - one of them was still slightly caked in blood. Remembering what had happened last night made him sick. He felt angry at himself that he had allowed the Kyuubi to take control of him, as well as let him kill again...

A tear rolled down his cheek and splashed onto his bloodied hand, making the blood run slightly as it became saturated again. He wiped his eyes with his clean hand. He was disgusted with himself, but knew that if he talked to someone about it, they would most likely turn him in to the ANBU. He didn't want to confess to it, he was too afraid to. What would the ANBU do to him if he did confess? Would they torture him? Lock him up in jail for who knows how long? Or would they just execute him on-the-spot, learning he had murdered several others before reaching the Hokage...? No. He just needed to keep quiet about it. But...for how long could he do so?

He looked over to his alarm clock. 7:47. He had woken up nearly fifteen minutes before his alarm was set to go off.

Wait...why was his alarm set?

Shit.

The mission.

Quickly turning off his alarm, he ran to the bathroom and closed the door. There was no way in hell that he was going to be able to go on the mission today. Not after what happened.

But he had to go on the mission. If he didn't, then his squad would come looking for him. Worst of all was the fact that Neji was leading the squad, seeing as he was a higher rank than himself and that they were going on a B-ranked mission to some village. Neji could read him like a book, and if he went, he would be in danger of letting his secret out, let alone he'd be endangering his and everyone else's lives. The Kyuubi would most likely retaliate. Who knows what he would do to them if he found out they were going to convict him?

He looked up at his reflection in the mirror. His skin was pale, and he was shaking. What was he going to do? He closed his eyes and rested his head on the door, thinking.

"ATTENTION ALL CHUNIN AND JONIN OF THE LEAF VILLAGE:" Naruto jumped as a loud voice rang through the village. It was Shizune, using a new system of loudspeakers that had been planted throughout the village recently. They served their purpose by telling young children to turn in at sundown, to warn villagers of possible attacks, and worst of all, to alert the ninja of emergency meetings. Her voice was shaking slightly, and Naruto's body went cold as he listened.

"...AN EMERGENCY MEETING IS TO BE HELD IN EXACTLY TEN MINUTES. MEET IN FRONT OF THE ACADEMY. ONLY CHUNIN AND JONIN ARE ALLOWED TO ATTEND. THAT IS ALL."

Naruto slid slowly down to the floor, his eyes wide and mind racing. There was only one possible reason why Shizune would be calling an emergency meeting for only the Chunin and Jonin┘

They know.

He didn't want to go to the meeting. He couldn't. They'd find out it was him, he was sure of it. What was he going to do?

But he had to go to the meeting. If he didn't show up, if he wasn't present, then surely someone would come looking for him. After all, he was a Chunin now, and had been for the past few months. He was required to attend the meeting, no matter what.

He laid his head down on his knees. What should he do?

His eyes snapped open as he realized the time. He had only ten minutes to get to the meeting, which was a good distance away from his house. He looked up at the clock and saw that he had wasted the past six minutes fighting with himself. Standing, he hurriedly got dressed, then went over to the sink and washed off all of the crusted blood on his hand and arm. Once he dried off, he left the bathroom, shoved on his shoes and tied his headband around his forehead, then ran out the door.

+

At the Academy, a crowd of Chunin and Jonin were assembled. Nearly half of them looked as though they had just gotten out of bed, while the rest looked very attentive. At the far back of the group, Naruto could see his squad. They were talking with each other, looking around every once in a while. He had a feeling that they were talking about him, or rather, asking where he was, since, being a Chunin, he was required to attend. None of them, even when they looked around, spotted him in the trees just a few yards from themselves. Although he was pretty sure that Akamaru could smell him; Akamaru had always disliked his faint scent of fox.

Naruto's mind was still racing. Should he still go? He checked his arm once more, making sure that he had gotten all of the blood off with his vigorous scrubbing. Yup, all of it was gone. The skin was still red, though. People might get curious. Even though it was rather hot outside, he put on his jacket and pulled the sleeves down low over his arms. He left the front unzipped, however, mainly because he would roast alive with it closed. Standing slightly, he jumped from the branch and landed just a few feet from his team.

"Hey Naruto. We were just looking for you." Kiba said as Naruto approached. "Uhm...did you just wake up?"

"Hm?" Naruto said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Your hair is all messed up." Naruto reached up and patted his head. Sure enough, he still had his bed head hair. Naruto grumbled and told them that the announcement woke him up.

"So anyway," Naruto continued. "Where's Shizune? Isn't she supposed to be here?" Naruto noticed that she hadn▓t arrived to the meeting yet. Kiba shrugged.

"She should be here momentarily." Neji told him. Sure enough, as soon as he had said it, Shizune arrived, surrounded by four ANBU. Among the ANBU was Anko, who looked both severely pissed and sad at the same time. Almost immediately after she touched down, Anko called out to the general group.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" Everyone went quiet. "The reason we've called you here is because┘ something terrible has happened." Her face saddened a little.

Naruto could hear his heart pounding in his ears. His hands had grown clammy, and had begun to shake.

"This morning...the Hokage was discovered dead in her office."

Nearly everyone reacted. A loud, sudden gasp, followed by cries of anguish, erupted from the crowd. The girls began to cry, the men looked outraged, and only a few people looked completely, and utterly, shocked. Naruto pretended to be shocked.

"Who did this?" someone asked. "Who could've done this?" It sounded like it came from Ino, who Naruto had seen earlier on the other side of the group, standing with Sakura and Hinata.

"Everyone, just calm down." Anko ordered. A few of them, mostly the men, obeyed. "We have a pretty good idea of who did this, and we believe it was the same person who's been targeting the other villagers and ninja for the past few weeks. The main reason we called you all out here, though, is to warn you of what has happened, and to tell you to stay on your toes about this. If this person is planning on targeting any more people, then we need to--"

"Wait, you don't know who's been doing this yet?" Ino asked. "Don't you have like, security cameras or something you can check?"

"We are having the camera footage looked at right now." Anko replied, and Naruto went cold. He had completely forgotten about the security cameras. Fuck. There was no way that he could escape conviction now. They were bound to see him on the video.

Deep inside him, the Kyuubi laughed.

'What's so funny?' Naruto asked him. He merely continued laughing. 'Damn fox. You knew this was going to happen. You just wanted to see how long it would be before I cracked, right?' Laughter. 'Fine, don't answer. But just so you know, I'm probably going to get the death penalty for this.' The Kyuubi stopped.

'That's right. Once they find out what you've done, they'll kill me, and you know that if I die, then you die as well. You can't live without me.' Naruto internally smirked at the Kyuubi▓s silence.

Snapping back to the real world, Naruto realized that someone was talking to him.

"Naruto?" It was Neji. He was kneeling beside him with a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" Naruto asked. He realized that he was sitting on his knees and was grasping his necklace for dear life. Somehow, he had collapsed. "Yeah." he replied. "I'm alright."

With Neji's help, Naruto stood back up. Looking back up to where Anko and the other ANBU were, he saw that three more ANBU had joined them, and all of them were talking to one another.

"Have they...said anything about...the video camera footage yet?" Naruto asked. His heart was still going a million miles an hour, making it hard for him to breathe normally.

"No, not yet." Kiba said. "But if they don't find him, I'll end up tracking him down myself. I'm getting sick and tired of this bullshit." Akamaru growled fiercely beside him in agreement. Naruto trembled.

⌠Are you sure you▓re alright, Naruto?■ Neji asked him. ⌠You look very pale. Are you sure you didn▓t catch something?■

⌠I▓m alright, guys. Really, I am.■ Kiba shook his head.

⌠No, I think you had better go home and rest, Naruto. You look really sick.■ Naruto opened his mouth slightly to say something, but inside his mind, the Kyuubi spoke to him.

▒Kit, this could be the perfect opportunity for you to get out of here. Stop being stupid and pretend to be sick.▓

Naruto, with his mouth still slightly open, turned his preparation to speak into a rather violent, and realistic, cough. Kiba thumped him on the back a few times.

⌠You okay?■ he asked. He reached up to feel Naruto▓s forehead. Inside Naruto, the Kyuubi activated his chakra, but only slightly. On the outside, Naruto still appeared normal, but his body temperature had risen slightly, just enough to where he would feel as though he were feverish. The back of Kiba▓s hand connected with Naruto▓s forehead, and Kiba reacted almost immediately.

⌠You▓re burning up!■ Kiba said to him. ⌠Naruto, you need to go home and get back into bed. You▓re in no fit shape to even be here right now.■

⌠But┘what about the mission?■ Naruto asked.

⌠They▓ll most likely cancel all missions outside the village for today.■ Neji told him. ⌠You just go on home and rest.■ Naruto didn▓t need telling twice. He turned around and started walking back, but Anko▓s voice stopped him.

⌠Everyone┘■ she said, addressing the group. Naruto turned. ⌠I▓ve just spoken with the other ANBU, and┘■ Naruto held his breath, as did everyone else.

⌠┘the camera footage revealed nothing. Almost all of the data from last night had been lost due to a system malfunction.■ A mixture of collective, angry outbursts followed this statement, most of which were from the men. Ino▓s voice, however, could be heard mixed in with the men▓s as they shouted. Anko▓s voice was lost in the shouts.

Relieved, Naruto turned again and walked back to the tree. Without looking back, he leapt up into the tree, then out as he headed back home.

+

Naruto lay in his bed, his covers pulled up past his head. It had been a few hours since the meeting. Since then, the sky - which had been bright and clear earlier that morning - had turned a dark grey as storm clouds had rolled in. The slight tapping of rain on the windows and the roof signaled the start of the rain. Soon after, the distant rumble of thunder could be heard, indicating the beginning of the storm.

Naruto had never turned on any of the lights in his little apartment, leaving him to stare at his quiet, dark house as he drowned in his thoughts. His mind was filled with conversation from the Kyuubi within him. Naruto silently cursed the demon. The Kyuubi, however, merely laughed.

▒How can you laugh at something like this?▓ Naruto shouted mentally, tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes, both from anger and sadness. ▒You could▓ve gotten us killed, pulling a stupid stunt like that! Didn▓t I tell you from the beginning that something like this was going to backfire at some point?!▓

The Kyuubi remained silent for a moment, then replied with ▒You were the one who wanted to become Hokage someday, am I right? I have merely made things easier for you to obtain your goal, that▓s all.▓ Naruto growled angrily at him.

A sudden knock on the door pulled Naruto from his thoughts and back into the real world. He pondered for a moment on whether or not he should get out of bed and answer the door. When the visitor knocked again, this time louder and more urgent-sounding, he grumbled and rolled out of bed to answer the door, but not before wrapping his blanket around his body, seeing as he was only wearing a tee shirt and his boxers. He opened the door and in its wake stood Neji, Hinata, Sakura, Kiba and Akamaru, and Shikamaru, all of whom were dressed in their black funeral clothes. Even Akamaru, who never really wore any clothing, had a black bandana tied around his neck.

Naruto stepped back to allow his visitors entrance to his home. Neji, who was the first to go in, turned on the lights. Sakura was carrying a basket in her arms, which Naruto guessed carried either food or medicine. He waited for everyone to get inside before closing the door.

⌠What▓re you guys doing here?■ he asked the general group. Sakura placed the basket down on the table and placed her hands on her hips.

⌠Well, for one thing, that isn▓t really the proper way to greet houseguests.■ she said, and Naruto grumbled. ⌠And second, Kiba came and told me that you were feeling sick, so I brought some medicine for you.■ She referred to the basket. Naruto nodded slightly and turned his attention to Shikamaru.

⌠So, uhm┘when is the funeral?■ he asked, glooming up his face a bit.

⌠In about an hour. We came early to give you enough time to get ready.■ Shikamaru answered. Naruto nodded again, then turned and began walking back to his room.

⌠You can keep talking to me. I▓m just going to get dressed.■ he told them as he walked. Once in his bedroom, he threw the blanket onto the bed and crossed over to the closet. He rummaged around a little before he found the proper clothing: a black, three-quarter length shirt and a pair of black slack-like capris. He took off his usual clothing and pulled on the funeral clothes. Once he had the clothes on, he searched through his closet a little more until he found his Chunin vest. It was a little dusty from hanging in his closet for so long, but it wasn▓t worn out. He had put it in here practically as soon as he got it, for he really found no point in wearing it. All he really needed was the knowledge that he had been promoted a rank, not so much the physical appearance of it. Carefully, he took the vest off of its hanger and put it on. He stood before the mirror, gazing at himself.

⌠It▓s a little much, don▓t you think?■ said a voice from behind him. He looked in the reflection of the mirror and saw Kiba standing there. Naruto shifted uncomfortably in the vest.

⌠I don▓t know whether or not I should wear it. I just thought that the outfit alone wasn▓t enough, so┘■

⌠Hey, Shikamaru▓s not even wearing his. Just leave it off. You look better without it on anyways.■ Kiba told him. Naruto nodded and took off the vest, carefully placing it back on its hanger and putting it back in the closet. As he was doing so, he laughed.

⌠What▓s so funny?■ Kiba asked him.

⌠Nothing, I just think it▓s funny how you▓re giving me fashion advice and I▓m actually listening.■ Kiba laughed, then looked at him with a rather offended look on his face.

⌠Hey! Are you saying I▓m not fashion-sensible?■ he asked Naruto. Naruto laughed and shook his head. He turned out the lights in the bedroom and walked out, with Kiba following behind. They went back into the kitchen area and prepared to leave. Sakura pulled out a bottle of medicine and started unscrewing the cap. Naruto looked at her strangely before asking what she was doing.

⌠I figured that I▓d give you some medicine before we go out, just in case you start to feel sick again during the funeral.■ Naruto shook his head.

⌠I feel fine, Sakura, really. All I needed was to rest. My stomachache and fever went away almost immediately.■ Sakura looked at him quizzically before putting away the medicine. Naruto sighed, but tensed again when he saw her pulling out an oral thermometer. Before he could protest, she shoved the thing into his mouth and turned it on. A few minutes later, the thing beeped and Sakura took it out.

⌠98.6. You▓re normal.■ she said, stowing away the instrument. Naruto internally sighed with relief.

⌠Now, can we get going?■ he said, motioning towards the door. Everyone migrated over there, Sakura being last with her basket. Naruto stopped her and told her to leave the basket here and that she could come pick it up once the service was over. She nodded and left the basket sitting on the table, then followed Naruto out of the apartment. Once outside, they met up with Ino, Choji, Lee, and Tenten, then together, they made their way to the funeral.

+

When Naruto and company finally reached the place where the funeral was to be held, they saw that nearly every other guest had already arrived and had already begun to stand in their proper places. Naruto quickly found his place and stood, surrounded by other Chunin and Jonin, and by general friends. The Genin stood up front, followed by the Chunin, then the Jonin, with the ANBU scattered throughout. Standing before the group was Jiraiya and the Hokage▓s council, as well as a large table covered in white carnations. Beside the table was another table, this one bearing a framed photograph of Tsunade surrounded by bright, colorful flowers and smoking incense in holders. The display had an overall peaceful and happy tone, as though it were trying to cheer up the sad and mournful funeral comers.

Jiraiya stepped forward and began speaking to the gathered audience.

⌠We are gathered here today┘to mourn the loss of an honorable member of the Leaf Village.■ he began slowly, pausing every once in a while to give more emphasis and meaning to the words he was speaking. His voice was thick and full of emotion, and his face was wet from crying. ⌠Last night, Lady Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, had her life tragically ripped away from her. She was an honorable and fierce leader who sought to make the village a nice and safe place for us to live in. And for that, we thank her┘.■

Naruto looked down at his feet, tears welling up in his eyes and his throat constricting as he began to cry. Why did this have to happen to someone like Tsunade? How could he have let the Nine-Tailed Fox take over yet again, let alone murder someone he was so close to? These questions swam in his mind, choking him, drowning him. Deep within him, the Kyuubi bowed his head sadly, for he felt Naruto▓s pain. Although he felt no sadness whatsoever towards the passing of the Sannin, he did happen to feel Naruto▓s suffering, and rather than mock him for being weak, he comforted him in his time of sorrow.

From behind him, Naruto felt a hand gently lay itself on his shoulder. He turned and saw his old sensei, Iruka Umino, his face filled with concern and grief. Without being asked, nor being forced to do so, Iruka held his arms wide, an inviting gesture to Naruto to let him know he was willing to help share the pain. Naruto▓s throat constricted even more and he walked forward slightly into the welcoming arms of his old sensei. He rested his head down on Iruka▓s shoulder and immediately broke down, sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder. Iruka wrapped his arms around his ex-student and hugged him tightly, closing his eyes and patting Naruto▓s head softly.

From somewhere to their right, a line had begun. The Genin were beginning to form a long line to which they would place a single white carnation on the table bearing the 5th Hokage▓s photograph, a common ritual for the ninja of the Leaf to perform for the deceased. Iruka saw the line forming and patted Naruto on the head to get his attention. Naruto looked up at him, his eyes red and puffy from crying. Iruka nodded toward the line that was forming and Naruto noticed it as well. Wiping his eyes on his sleeve, he calmed himself down and prepared to join the line.

The line moved slowly, but each second was worth it. Every ninja, young and old, of the Leaf Village paid their respects to their deceased leader, some of them sobbing, others bearing stony faces to hide their emotions, how a true shinobi should act when one of their fellows passes on. As Naruto neared the table, he realized just how much Tsunade was to him. She was like his grandmother, always watching out for him, even if she was a little harsh sometimes with her punishments. Naruto grinned, thinking of the umpteen dozen times that he had to deal with her and, rather than confronting it and taking the heat, ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction. He reminisced on his memories of her, thinking of the first time they ever met, and how he was disbelieving that she was one, the same age as Jiraiya, and two, was going to become the fifth Hokage. He remembered their little tussle outside the bar where they first met, where she had gambled her prized necklace, the very necklace that had been passed on to her by her grandfather, the first Hokage.

Naruto▓s hand went up to his necklace, which hung around his neck, and grasped onto it tightly. The finely crafted piece of rock was cold against his chest. Thinking quickly, he took the necklace off and grabbed up a carnation, then wrapped the necklace▓s chain around the stem of the flower, just beneath the petals. He approached the growing pile of carnations the other nin had left, but instead of laying his own flower down on top of the pile, he placed it down directly in front of Tsunade▓s photograph. And as he turned away, he saw the gem glimmer and sparkle as the first rays of sunlight broke through the clouds and descended upon the mourners.

+

Well, I certainly hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. There is still more to come, I just don't know how long it's going to take me to update it. It's taken me quite a long time just to write this chapter. But I will keep writing. I▓ve got like a whole fifteen years worth of plot that Karri and I came up with in like, one night. So yeah. This story could be going on for quite a while.

Please review, and please, NO FLAMES! I accept only reviews, tips/suggestions, and constructive criticism. If you find my story to be lame and inadequate, then just save yourself the trouble and don▓t even say anything. It sure as hell saves me the trouble of having to deal with all of your anal shit. D:

But if you do like (or even love) this story, don▓t hesitate to push that little button down there and send me your reviews! :D

I also must thank my friend Karri for betareading this. THANKS KARRI! -hugs-

ViolentImpulses 


	2. Chapter 2 Part 1

The plot bunnies have been very bothersome lately, but I've managed to work with them in the creation of this chapter. Hopefully I don't go off my planned course for this chapter, although I sort of already have. Oh well. At least I can actually GO with this new, more exciting plot. Hopefully you will all like it as much as I do.

Disclaimer: The Naruto franchise doesn't belong to me, nor do its characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto and his idiotic mind -_-

A bright blue and cloudless sky brought warmth and happiness to the village of Konoha. Children ran wildly through the streets, laughing and playing happily. Clothing hung out on lines between the buildings, swaying gently in the breeze and giving off their freshly-laundered scent. Businesses were open and people - mostly women - flitted through them, some just looking around, and some heavily laden with shopping bags.

At the head of the village, the Hokage Tower stood out above the other buildings, it's white and red exterior boldly standing out against the deep, rich, earthy brown behind it that was the Hokage Mountain, bearing the faces of all the past village leaders. And although the building stood proudly at the head of the village, everyone knew that the Hokage no longer resided there, for merely one week earlier, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, had been brutally murdered.

Just one week ago, the Fifth Hokage's funeral was held. Every villager, both commoner and ninja, mourned the loss of their beloved leader on that day. Since then, the ANBU - along with several other high ranked ninja - had been investigating the murder. They've had medical specialists come and take samples from the crime scene and have them examine their samplings. Even one week later, however, they had been unable to find any sufficient evidence that pointed to who had actually committed the murder. Knowing that, the ANBU had begun random investigations of all of the village ninja, including their own fellow and past ANBU members that still lived in the village. Some of them found the investigations to be rather annoying, mainly because the ninja would pop out of random places and start asking them questions and others would stalk them around for a while, but all of the villagers knew that it was all for a good reason: to find, capture, and sentence the one responsible for the death of their leader.

Towards the center of the village, in a small apartment complex, Naruto Uzumaki lay in his bed, curled beneath the sheets and comforter, his eyes wide open and staring blankly at the wall opposite him. Cold sweat covered his nervously shaking body, his breath coming in short gasps. For the past week, he had been waking up from horrible nightmares filled with terrifying images of that night, his body covered in sweat and his face drenched with tears. Often times, he would wake up from a particularly gruesome dream and have to make a dash to the bathroom. Half of the nights he spent in the bathroom, curled up on the cold tile floor, shaking from the recent violent expulsion of stomach contents and sobbing. Inside him, the Kyuubi tried comforting the boy, but it always ended the same: mental arguments and shouting, followed by violent vomiting from remembering that night's events. After a while, though, his stomach was completely purged of its contents and he merely retched over the porcelain toilet.

After being in the bathroom for an hour, he collapsed into a heap against the wall opposite the toilet. He curled up into a pitiful little ball on the cold tiles and simply laid there, his entire body shaking. Back in the bedroom, his phone went off. It rang once, twice, three times before the answering machine picked up:

"Yo! You've reached the home of Naruto Uzumaki. I'm either out training or am too lazy to take your call right now, so leave me a message and I'll get back to you when I'm able to. Thanks! -BEEP-"

"Hey Naruto, it's Sakura-" Naruto bolted upright, his stomach cramping suddenly in protest, as he heard the female voice. "-I just wanted to see if you wanted to go out to lunch or something. I know you've been really glum lately, so I thought I'd come over and pick you up and see if we could go out for ramen or something, but apparently you're not home, so I guess I'll just-"

"Hello?" Naruto nearly yelled into the mouthpiece of his phone as he picked it up. His voice was raspy from the recent vomiting, but he tried concealing it.

"Hey Naruto! I had a feeling you were home." Sakura told him, laughing a little. Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his neck absentmindedly.

"Yeah, I was in the shower and didn't exactly hear the phone until the answering machine already picked up...so..." Naruto lied. Sakura laughed again.

"Lazy-bones! Did you just get out of bed?" Naruto scratched his head again and laughed, telling her that he had.

"Well, do you want to go out for lunch?" she asked.

"Sure! When do you wanna meet?" Naruto replied excitedly.

"Hmm..." Sakura thought for a moment. "well, I'm already ready, so how about I just come pick you up?"

"Sure! Just uh...take your time getting here, okay? I've still got to get dressed and everything, so that'll take me a little while..." Sakura laughed again.

"Okay. I was thinking on stopping in to Ino's shop for a minute to say hi anyways, and who knows who I'll run into on the way to your place, so...I'll be there in, oh let's say...fifteen minutes?" Naruto glanced over to his clock: 11:45.

"Sure, I should be ready by then."

They wrapped up their conversation and said their goodbyes, and as soon as Naruto laid the phone back on the hook, he dashed back to the bathroom to take a speedy shower.

Five minutes later, his hair sticking to his face and a towel wrapped around his waist, he traveled back to his bedroom and began sifting through his clothes, trying to find something decent to wear that differed from his usual orange-and-black ninja clothes. Instead, he pulled out a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a black tee-shirt, along with a fresh pair of cottony boxers and some socks. He quickly pulled on the clothes and shifted around in them to make them look and feel comfortable, seeing as he hardly ever wore the clothing and they had been sitting in his closet for who knows how long collecting dust. Surprisingly though, the clothing fit rather comfortably despite the fact they hadn't been worn in forever. He stood before the mirror briefly, making sure everything checked out alright, before going back to the bathroom. He blow-dried his hair slightly, making it so it wasn't dripping wet, but wasn't fluffy and frizzy either. Slightly damp, that's how he liked it. Besides, he usually let his hair air-dry, but did find the blow-dryer to be quite useful for those quick, sudden outings that he didn't want to go to with a wet head. This date, for instance.

Giving his head one last shake and making his hair stand out on ends, he exited the bathroom and started pulling on his shoes: a pair of flats that he hadn't worn in forever either. As a matter of fact, they were practically new, seeing as they also had been sitting in his closet collecting dust for who knows how long. They were black with pale green and parchment-colored designs of some sort with white soles. Pulling on the shoes, he was slightly taken aback at how comfortably they fit, knowing that they hadn't been broken in yet and his feet weren't accustomed to this type of shoe, for he had been wearing his ninja shoes for most of his life.

He crossed over to the mirror once more, making sure everything checked out alright. Just as he bent over to pick up his wallet, the doorbell sounded, announcing the arrival of Sakura.

Hand in hand, Naruto and Sakura walked down the street. They had been going out for almost a year now, Sakura having finally decided to give Naruto a chance at dating her. Since then, they had practically turned into the perfect couple. Instead of being forceful and super-annoying as Sakura had predicted, Naruto had turned out to be quite the gentleman. He always complemented her, bought her little gifts here and there, and never bragged about their relationship to others, the exact opposite of what Sakura had also predicted.

This date, like most others, was simple and consisted of an afternoon out at Ichiraku Ramen. For hours, Naruto and Sakura would walk around, simply talking and enjoying each other's presence. Once in a while, they would be walking with their hands swaying down by their sides, and Naruto would entwine his fingers with Sakura's. Sakura would just blush and squeeze his hand a little, and Naruto would squeeze back, rubbing his thumb gently over Sakura's fingers.

Once, Naruto actually tried sneaking a kiss on Sakura's cheek. Unfortunately, Sakura turned her head to see what he was doing and got a kiss on the nose instead. Naruto blushed furiously for a while, his head turned away as he tried to hide his now bright red face. Sakura saw how embarrassed Naruto was and kissed him on the cheek comfortingly. They eventually ended up going back to Naruto's apartment for a quick make-out session before Sakura was expected to return home, seeing that her mom was rather strict about having her date Naruto.

The two of them reached the ramen shop and sat down on their stools. After taking their orders, Naruto for a bowl of miso pork ramen and Sakura for roasted chicken ramen, they struck up a conversation.

"So how have you been feeling, Naruto?" Sakura asked gently. Naruto just shrugged.

"Well, I got sick again this morning." he told her, ⌠It's been getting better, though. Like today, if I had been feeling worse, then I probably wouldn't have wanted to go on this date, however far-fetched that sounds." They laughed.

"That's good." Sakura said, sipping on her water. "Hey, did you hear what they found?"

Naruto almost choked on his water. Coughing, he asked what.

⌠They found Tsunade's will in a file cabinet in her office. So far, no one knows who she's giving stuff to, if at all."

"Oh." Naruto sighed internally, relieved. "That's good, I guess."

"You guess?" Sakura asked. Naruto simply shrugged and sipped on some water. Their meals were served to them and Naruto dug into his eagerly, not really wanting to return to the previous subject.

For several minutes, nothing very interesting happened. The two of them just sat there, enjoying their ramen and each other's company. Their peaceful lunch was interrupted, however, when Ino burst into the ramen shop, her hair flying everywhere.

"Naruto!" she practically yelled. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"What's up, Ino?" Naruto asked.

"You've been discovered in Tsunade's will. You've got to go to her office to receive whatever it is. And by seeing Shizune's reaction when she read it, it's got to be something big."

Naruto practically inhaled the remainder of his ramen, then bolted out of the shop, Sakura and Ino following close behind.

Naruto barged into the Hokage's office, a wave of anxiety and sickness rushing over him. He collected himself and walked up to Shizune and the Village Elders, who were standing around the desk. Atop the desk was a rather worn-looking document, like it hadn't been taken out of a folder or bookshelf for many years. Dust had collected on it, and the words were slightly worn away where the paper had been folded into quarters and stored somewhere, not to be looked at again for ages.

"Uhm," Naruto said, announcing his presence to the elders in the room, who had neglected to take notice of his barging into the room. They looked up at him, one spreading his arms over the document as if to protect it.

"Oh, Naruto!" Shizune said, walking around the desk to him. Ton-ton wasn't in her arms, so she looked rather awkward to him. "Come in. We were expecting you."

"May I ask why?" he said, walking forward to the edge of the desk. He looked from one elder to the next, hoping for an answer from one.

"Well," one spoke, his voice worn, "we just discovered Lady Tsunade's will a moment ago, and your name was found in her will."

"That's what Ino said." Naruto told him, glancing back at Sakura and Ino to make sure they were still there.

"Well," he continued, "she has wished that a very important job be handed down to you from her."

Naruto's heart raced. He knew what was coming.

"Naruto," he told him, "she is granting you the role of Sixth Hokage."

To Be Continued


End file.
